Dubai's second airport welcomed its first passengers this week. A flight with just over 100 passengers from Budapest reached Dubai's new Al Maktoum International Airport, which is expected to turn into the world's largest airport within the next decade.
Dubai has high expectations for the airport. Al Maktoum International Airport has already been given the airport code DWC for Dubai World Central. The construction and development for the airport is expected to be $32 billion. After it is finished, it will have five runways and will cater to 160 million passengers a year, the Associated Press reports.
"There is a lot of pressure to get the airport running," Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told AP. "Its ambition is to be the world's largest airport and the world's largest hub."
Air travel is a big part of Dubai's economy as it makes up 28% of Dubai's gross domestic product, which amounts to about $22 billion. Most of that comes from Dubai International Airport. The current main airport is the fourth busiest in the world and serves 57 million people a year. It is expected to peak at 90 million by 2020.
DWC opened in 2010 to cargo flights. There are about 36 freight operators at the airport. Hungarian Wizz Air flew the first passenger flight to the new airport. So far, DWC only has three agreements with passenger airlines.
The airport currently does not offer connecting flights for transfer passengers. It is also difficult to access the airport's only terminal without a car since mass transit is not connected to the area. According to Griffiths, the airport hopes to accommodate Emirates, the Middle East's biggest airline by 2025. Emirates currently operates out of Dubai International Airport.
There are currently no plans to close Dubai International Airport as DWC expands, but it is a possibility depending on air-space capacity.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
